No-Spending Challenge #6

No-Spending Challenge #6

I did a double take when I realized that I haven’t executed a no-spending challenge for TWO YEARS!  Oops! The time is now upon me and…the family to go for it.  A no-spending challenge is a love-hate thing for me.  I love to go deep and see how much I spend (or not spend) periodically. But I hate that I can’t do the “two is one, and one is none” concept. So at the moment I have my stock up list going.

Typically I like running a no-spending challenge once or twice a year to help me to stretch our cash through the drought time in our annual budget. I teach piano through the school year, and we use that money for our groceries. So during the school year I tuck away $20 here, $40 there. This year I ended up with $820 for the summer groceries.  When August 1 came, I pulled out the last $200.

So for this new challenge here are my self-imposed restrictions, limitations, boundaries and guidelines.

• This will last for 4 weeks.
• I will buy perishables like fruits and vegetables.
• I won’t buy things in my pantry when I run out.
• If we travel, money for food comes out of a different budget.
• I am keeping a Google Spreadsheet of my expenses, and where I shopped.

I have done challenges before when we’ve tried to spend ABSOLUTELY nothing in every category except for produce and bills of course.  This time I’m not saying that, but I’m also not planning on going on a spending spree in other areas either. Like I said I have my stock up list, and still plan to buy those things when the challenge is over. So you might think if I’m going to do that, there would be no value.  But there is, indeed, value. I think the challenge does two things. First I get a chance to see what I can minimally live off of for a seasons. Second, it forces me to dig through my freezer and pantry to use things I don’t always think about.

Some of you employee the envelop system and know exactly what you spend each month, which is great. I think adding the added accountability of writing it down is very insightful periodically.  And to restrict buying on a regular basis is a great exercise.

Anyone ready to join in on the challenge? Are there any limitations you would add for yourself?  You don’t have to wait for the beginning of a month. I do like to start on a Sunday for whatever reason. Sometimes I’ll start on the first of the month wherever it falls. No matter, do something you can stick to. Even if it’s only for a week, try it! When I’m done, I will post results.

If you are interested in reading up on our other No-Spending Challenges, check it out below:

• For the No-Spending Challenge #1 parameters, go here. For the No-Spending Results #1, go here.
• For the 4 Week No Spending Challenge #2 parameters, go here, and for the No-Spending Challenge Results #2, go here.
• For the 4 Week No Spending Challenge #3 parameters, go here, and for the No-Spending Challenge Results #3, go here.
• For the 4 Week No-Spending Challenge #4 parameters, go here, and for the No-Spending Challenge Results #4, go here.
• For the 4 Week No-Spending Challenge #5 parameters, go here, and for the No-Spending Challenge #5 Results, go here.